MLMs are built on the belief that if it works for me, it will work for you, despite any differences in resources, backgrounds, skill sets, or networks.

I’m cash-rich (or at least, getting there) and time-poor.

He describes three levels on the path of retention: recruits (the people at the bottom of the pyramid), grinders (those who do the greatest amount of work and put on these events), and profiteers (the people at the very top, who do very little work and make most of the money). The objective of these events—whether they are biz ops, conventions, or

This is why the product cost is so inflated—because so many levels of pay are built in.

This myth of meritocracy denies the many other factors that go into “success” as we tend to frame it. The idealization of hard work and the “anyone can do this” mentality don’t translate when the playing field isn’t level.

It’s the dopamine hit that keeps on giving. And it makes it easy to ignore the warning signs and that gut feeling that everything about this is problematic. Eventually, this turns into other things—shopping at the same stores and buying the same studded heels and the same fedora hats because you need to match the other bossbabes—and before you know

The MLM indoctrinates you to expect your friends to support you instead of allowing them to spend their money, time, and life the way they see fit.

They manipulate emotions to drown out both our deeper intuition and our logic—and if someone preys on emotion (look how strong you are! I want to be a strong, independent woman, too!), both intuition and logic lose.

You conclude that you have a secret, that they need to know the secret, and that they will be better off if they join you so they can be in on it.